]]>Center4ME to honor outstanding students and faculty members at banquet

Liberty University’s Center for Multicultural Enrichment (Center4ME), with the help of several other schools and departments, will honor outstanding students and staff at the 21st annual Achievement Awards Saturday, April 30.

The event is a formal banquet consisting of a four-course dinner, entertainment and award presentations by the Center4ME, school of education, Office of Student Conduct, Office of Student Leadership and the Liberty University Multicultural Advisory Board, according to the Center4ME’s website.

There will be one award for Faculty/Staff of the Year, and three separate students will be awarded Freshman of the Year, Lead Fellow of the Year and the Achievement Award.

Allen Ancheril, associate director of campus relations for the Center4ME, described the lengthy selection process for the Achievement Awards.

He said after they check with the Registrar’s Office, they begin their selections based on GPA.

“If we have too many nominees, we drive the GPA up a little higher just to condense it,” Ancheril said.

He said, first, the department will send out emails to the nominees, informing them that they have been selected, and the nominees will either accept or decline.

The individuals will then be interviewed by a panel, which consists of faculty and staff from across the university.

The interview constitutes 80 percent of the final score the panel uses to select a winner.

The remaining 20 percent comes from the final vote, which is open to voting online until April 11.

Other qualifications for the finalists are ethnic minority, having eight disciplinary points or less within the previous semester, excelling in Christian character, and participating in the campus community, according to the Center4ME’s website.

“I think it’s important that we highlight individuals who come from different backgrounds, and (the Achievement Awards are) a venue that explains that even though we’re different, we have our similarities,” Ancheril said.

“We’re unique in our different functions, but we are united for the same purpose. That’s our department motto.”

Dr. Troy Matthews, associate professor and director for the Christian/Community Service Office, is one of this year’s finalists for the Faculty/Staff of the Year award and said he is honored to be included as a nominee.

“While some in society seek to extol one culture over another, the Center for Multicultural Enrichment offers a biblically-based view of culture and people — one that recognizes we are all created in the image of God,” Matthews said.

“To be recognized for such an award suggests that at some level, my life and work has appeared to others to be in alignment with the purpose and mission of Liberty University and the Center4ME. To me, that is the humbling and rewarding aspect of such an award. To God be the glory.”

Rachel Cartegna, a business: project management student from Medford Lakes, New Jersey, is one of the finalists for the Freshman of the Year award and said the nomination was a “complete
surprise” to her.

“If I were to win, I would feel immensely honored, especially having met the other nominees, because I truly believe that they are all deserving of this recognition more than myself,” Cartegna said.

“It has been a cool journey. I got to meet people such as the head of student housing and of student conduct during the panel interview process. I’m looking forward to the event because who doesn’t like to get all dolled up every now and then?”

Jaylin Jones, a digital media student from Fort Leanord Word, Missouri, is one of three finalists for Lead Fellow of the Year. He said this nomination is his first at Liberty and will encourage him to continue to be the best student he can be.

“The LEAD (Leadership Excellence and Academic Achievement) program has done so much for me by just being a family that reminded me of home,” Jones said.

“If I win, I plan to represent this program to the best of my ability because they have done so much for me.”

Axa Yohannan, one of the finalists for the Achievement Award, is an aeronautics student from Staten Island, New York.

She said the nomination was a confidence boost, a privilege and an act of God’s grace.

“It would definitely mean a lot if I am the winner,” Yohannan said.

“It would just make me feel appreciated for working hard and keeping a good record in school along with being able to see God’s faithfulness come through in another amazing way.”

The 21st annual Achievement Awards are open to all who would like to attend.

Tickets are $30 each and can be purchased online through the ticket portal.

“It really does highlight academic achievement, and lot of these finalists have tremendous stories,” Ancheril said.

“You hear some pretty amazing testimonies as well. To see where these people come from and then to see them giving their all at school, giving their all to the campus and their community, and to see them honored overall is just an amazing thing to see.”

]]>https://www.liberty.edu/champion/2016/04/awarding-the-diversity/feed/0Student brings home top prizehttps://www.liberty.edu/champion/2014/03/student-brings-home-top-prize/
https://www.liberty.edu/champion/2014/03/student-brings-home-top-prize/#commentsTue, 25 Mar 2014 18:58:54 +0000http://www.liberty.edu/champion/?p=24977Sarah Corder is named PRWeek’s Student of the Year in …

]]>Sarah Corder is named PRWeek’s Student of the Year in New York City, March 20

Before 900 of some of the nation’s most distinguished public relations professionals, senior Sarah Corder was named the PRWeek Student of the Year at the PRWeek Awards 2014 gala at the Grand Hyatt Hotel in New York, March 21.

In addition to a trophy, Corder received a cash prize as well as a paid summer internship at PRWeek.

She became the second Liberty student to win the competition in the past three years, according to Dr. Angela Widgeon, associate professor of Digital Media and Creative Arts.

Among more than 100 students entering the competition each year, Keri Cook brought home the award in 2012, three other Liberty students placed in the top five over the past two years and Danielle Jacobs finished in the top two in 2010.

AWARD — Corder is the second Liberty student to win this title. Photo credit: Courtney Russo

“I am extremely proud of Sarah,” Widgeon, who requires students to enter the competition in her public relations writing course, said. “She told me that she was going to work hard, learn everything she could and apply what I said, because she believed she could win, and she did.”

The PRWeek Student of the Year competition required each contestant to create a campaign for a fictional airline called Flight, according to PRWeek’s website. Each student wrote a five-page essay explaining how he or she planned to increase frequent flyer miles while sponsoring the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro.

Corder said Widgeon required her students to go “above and beyond” by also submitting a 20-page plans book, a report that is a visual representation of the ideas for the campaign.

Corder was recognized for sound research, professionalism and strategic use of social media, according to PRWeek’s website. Her idea to motivate customers through charitable contributions also won the approval of judges.

“(Corder’s) concept of having the airline plant one tree in Brazil’s Atlantic Rainforest for every 100 miles flown in June and July 2016 was a noteworthy nod to the ‘doing good is good business’ philosophy so prevalent today,” PRWeek’s website reported.

According to Corder, being named Student of the Year already gave her the opportunity to begin networking with leaders in the public relations field while at the award ceremony.

“I ended up sitting at a table with people who work at companies we study in our classes and some of the people who had actually judged my project,” she said.

According to Corder, she believes the award and her internship at PRWeek will continue to create opportunities for her in the future. Cook, who is now an account executive at SS+K, a marketing firm in New York, agrees.

“Winning this award had a huge impact on my personal and professional life, as it essentially helped me to determine what city, industry and company in which I’d jump-start my career…” Cook said. “I think this is a great opportunity for Sarah in terms of opening doors and helping her choose what she wants to do with her learning, experience and ambitions.”

Corder said she is excited to begin her internship but is also aware that entering a secular environment will present new challenges.

“People aren’t always acting the Christian way, and you have to stand your ground …” she said. “It’s going to be tough, but I think that God put me here for a reason.”

According to Corder, her classmates and professors, such as Widgeon and Amy Bonebright, have helped her prepare both spiritually and professionally for the workplace.

“Sarah put together a very smart campaign,” Widgeon said. “She paid attention to the client’s needs, conducted research to better help them understand their target audience and developed a creative strategy, which brought the two together.”

“Peter did not stay defeated but rather finished well … Lance Armstrong is an example of someone that failed to finish well,” Bell said.

He also spoke about Hendricks and how he was told as a child that he was most likely to end up in prison. Hendricks eventually worked at Dallas Theological Seminary, finished well and then died a week later.

“To finish well, you need to commit to what brought you to this point, acknowledge Christ, seek friends and accountability partners that know you well, find a good church and become men and women of the Word,” Bell said.

The officers of the society were recognized for their involvement, and awards were given to the two graduating officers.

“They have been here since the beginning induction year, devoted to the continuity of the organization, attended meetings every Wednesday and doing assignments for every service opportunity,” Grayson said.

Senior advisors Andre Craig and Sarah Harper were recognized for their efforts with gifts, according to Grayson.

The recipients of the Maria Leonard Senior Book Award were also recognized during the banquet. This award is given to the ALD member with the highest GPA, which happened to be an 18-way tie. Drew Dickson and Jocelyn J. Van Den Bos were the two in attendance.
The book “100 Cities of the World” will be donated in their honor to the A. Pierre Guillerman Library.

The spirit of ALD is to have a “heart and desire to serve the campus and the community,” Grayson said.

“My responsibility is more of a team effort, specifically depending on the different events,” President of External Communications Austin Edwards said. “I learned how to work as a team. ALD has inspired me to continue to serve others as I made good friends and got involved in the community.”

The ALD is primarily a community service society, where the junior and senior classmen do not really have to be active.

“To be invited, you must have a 3.5 GPA at the end of freshman year,” ALD Editor Kaitlyn Quesinberry said. “The active officers are sophomores. Next year, the positions go to the upcoming sophomores, but as a junior or senior, you can still be involved.”

“As a historian, I am working on the scrapbook that shows the pictures and articles about the services we have done over the year,” Erin Carney said. “It’s fun working together, planning these things … and it’s cool to see how well people are doing in school.”

The scrapbook is how Liberty’s chapter showcases its work to the national level.

“Last year, we were awarded the Order of the Torch, a national honor for our scrapbook,” Grayson said.

ALD will host their Spring Initiation April 5 in Towns Auditorium, and administration expects to accept 400 new initiatives.

“This year is a record year for us,” Grayson said. “We had 343 people join last year, so this is good for the first-year student as some will never join their major’s clubs.”

Students can get involved with the ALD and partner in serving the community by participating in the ALD annual campus-wide Teddy Bear Drive March 18-21.